Safin, Nadal out of Australian Open

DEFENDING champion Marat Safin and French Open winner Rafael Nadal are out of the Australian Open, increasing Roger Federer’s prospects of winning – if he can stay free of injuries.

Top-ranked Federer lost an exhibition match Wednesday to Tommy Haas but said he was confident an ankle problem that bothered him late last year would not affect him at this season’s first major. Four-time Australian Open champion Andre Agassi withdrew earlier in the month and 2002 winner Thomas Johansson is questionable with a shoulder injury that forced him out of the Sydney International this week.”Getting injured is obviously a concern,” said Federer, who won Wimbledon and the US Open among his 11 titles in 2005.”With all the injury problems we have in men’s tennis at the moment, I’m happy to still be standing.”Federer was erratic in a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 loss to Tommy Haas, who is returning from a spate of injuries that contributed to his ranking slipping from No.2 in 2002 to 46 at the end of last season.He said he’d bounce back from the loss at the Kooyong exhibition tournament, emphasising it was no setback to his Australian Open ambitions.Federer only played one tournament after damaging his right ankle in October last year, reaching the final of the season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai before losing in five sets to David Nalbandian.No.2-ranked Nadal, Safin and No.3-ranked Andy Roddick all skipped the Masters Cup because of injuries.Australian Open chief executive Paul McNamee on Wednesday confirmed Nadal had notified the tournament of his withdrawal and he was expecting formal notification from Safin.McNamee said he’d held concerns that Safin would not travel to Melbourne after the Russian star pulled out of the Hopman Cup.”I am very sad that I cannot go to the Australian Open to defend my title as champion,” Safin said on his Web site.Bothered by a left knee injury, Safin played in only one tournament in the last five months of 2005.”I have been working very hard and it is a lot better,” he said.”In my heart I want to be at the Australian Open but I have had to listen to what (coach Peter Lundgren), my team and also myself are saying that it would not be right to go to a Grand Slam and put so much test on my knee.”Safin’s semifinal win at the Australian Open last year was one of only four defeats for Federer in the season.Nadal, who beat Federer in the French Open semis, pulled out because of the left foot he injured in October at the Madrid Masters, the last event he played.”The Australian Open is too important to go there and play without the necessary condition to compete well,” Nadal said.Roddick, who missed Shanghai due to a back problem, said the players should club together to form a union and force tennis administrators to shorten the season in a bid to curb the number of injuries.But he didn’t expect consensus, saying the disparate and individual nature of tennis would make it impossible for everyone to agree.”It’s too bad you’re missing the defending champion, the guy who was second in the world last season and (Agassi) _ one of the biggest legends of the game _ it’s not good for the tournament,” he said.Federer said proper planning and preparation would help guard against wear and tear problems, but nothing could prevent injuries from accidents.”It’s unfortunate at the moment.How often does it happen that half of the top guys are injured?” Roddick said.”They’re injuries that have been coming for a long time …it all adds up and we all think it’s the tour in the end.But I don’t quite agree.”Federer defended his title at Doha to open his season last week, but mis-hit forehands and backhands and didn’t look in the sort of supreme form Wednesday that earned him an 81-4 record in 2005.Apart from a heavy brace on his ankle, he showed no other signs of the problem.Roddick beat 19-year-old Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-2, 6-2 in his first match in two months.McNamee said the absence of Nadal, Safin and Agassi was a disappointment for the Australian Open, but wouldn’t detract from the competition.He said eight of the top 10 men are available and the women’s field contains all of the top 10, including Maria Sharapova returning from a recurring shoulder problem.Defending champion Serena Williams arrived in Melbourne saying she’s no longer bothered by swelling in her left knee that forced her out of an exhibition event in Hong Kong last week.And McNamee said the wild card entries of former No.1 Martina Hingis and former Wimbledon semifinalist Jelena Dokic were a bonus.Hingis retired in 2002, after making the Australian Open six consecutive seasons, and Dokic hasn’t played here since 2001.- Nampa-APFour-time Australian Open champion Andre Agassi withdrew earlier in the month and 2002 winner Thomas Johansson is questionable with a shoulder injury that forced him out of the Sydney International this week.”Getting injured is obviously a concern,” said Federer, who won Wimbledon and the US Open among his 11 titles in 2005.”With all the injury problems we have in men’s tennis at the moment, I’m happy to still be standing.”Federer was erratic in a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 loss to Tommy Haas, who is returning from a spate of injuries that contributed to his ranking slipping from No.2 in 2002 to 46 at the end of last season.He said he’d bounce back from the loss at the Kooyong exhibition tournament, emphasising it was no setback to his Australian Open ambitions.Federer only played one tournament after damaging his right ankle in October last year, reaching the final of the season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai before losing in five sets to David Nalbandian.No.2-ranked Nadal, Safin and No.3-ranked Andy Roddick all skipped the Masters Cup because of injuries.Australian Open chief executive Paul McNamee on Wednesday confirmed Nadal had notified the tournament of his withdrawal and he was expecting formal notification from Safin.McNamee said he’d held concerns that Safin would not travel to Melbourne after the Russian star pulled out of the Hopman Cup.”I am very sad that I cannot go to the Australian Open to defend my title as champion,” Safin said on his Web site.Bothered by a left knee injury, Safin played in only one tournament in the last five months of 2005.”I have been working very hard and it is a lot better,” he said.”In my heart I want to be at the Australian Open but I have had to listen to what (coach Peter Lundgren), my team and also myself are saying that it would not be right to go to a Grand Slam and put so much test on my knee.”Safin’s semifinal win at the Australian Open last year was one of only four defeats for Federer in the season.Nadal, who beat Federer in the French Open semis, pulled out because of the left foot he injured in October at the Madrid Masters, the last event he played.”The Australian Open is too important to go there and play without the necessary condition to compete well,” Nadal said.Roddick, who missed Shanghai due to a back problem, said the players should club together to form a union and force tennis administrators to shorten the season in a bid to curb the number of injuries.But he didn’t expect consensus, saying the disparate and individual nature of tennis would make it impossible for everyone to agree.”It’s too bad you’re missing the defending champion, the guy who was second in the world last season and (Agassi) _ one of the biggest legends of the game _ it’s not good for the tournament,” he said.Federer said proper planning and preparation would help guard against wear and tear problems, but nothing could prevent injuries from accidents.”It’s unfortunate at the moment.How often does it happen that half of the top guys are injured?” Roddick said.”They’re injuries that have been coming for a long time …it all adds up and we all think it’s the tour in the end.But I don’t quite agree.”Federer defended his title at Doha to open his season last week, but mis-hit forehands and backhands and didn’t look in the sort of supreme form Wednesday that earned him an 81-4 record in 2005.Apart from a heavy brace on his ankle, he showed no other signs of the problem.Roddick beat 19-year-old Frenchman Gael
Monfils 6-2, 6-2 in his first match in two months.McNamee said the absence of Nadal, Safin and Agassi was a disappointment for the Australian Open, but wouldn’t detract from the competition.He said eight of the top 10 men are available and the women’s field contains all of the top 10, including Maria Sharapova returning from a recurring shoulder problem.Defending champion Serena Williams arrived in Melbourne saying she’s no longer bothered by swelling in her left knee that forced her out of an exhibition event in Hong Kong last week.And McNamee said the wild card entries of former No.1 Martina Hingis and former Wimbledon semifinalist Jelena Dokic were a bonus.Hingis retired in 2002, after making the Australian Open six consecutive seasons, and Dokic hasn’t played here since 2001.- Nampa-AP